DRAMATIC OUTBURST: "I AM THE MURDERER"

Chronicle (Levin), 14 January 1949, Page 6

DRAMATIC OUTBURST: "I AM THE MURDERER"

Press Association) *

Bizarre Scenes At Triple Murder Hearing *

(Per

"Well, I killed them; I killed them ail. I aua- tlie mnrderer ! " This was- the dramatic declaration of J ohn Reremoana Tume, a lorry driver, married, aged 30 years, of Tokorangi, when asked to plead at the conclusion of the lower coiirt hearing- at Marton yesterday .of three charges of murder preferred against hiiu. YYf ^j^oughout tlie lengthy proceediiigs Tume had maintained an aimoSt. entirely disinterested attitude toward tlie evidence, making * great-play of pantominiic behavioul' such as draVving witli his thnhaii^iiffed liand imaginary cirel.es aronnd his head, throwing head and thrusting out his t'ongtie; with; aitdible . ejaeulations, removing and replacing liis slides,_ alternatin;g between sitting on a eliair just outside the.doek and s.tanding in the dbck itself from whence he would tuni to tlie crowded public section of the small courtlioii'se and smile at the people tliere. However, as soon as aecused was brouglit to liis fe°et by liis escoft to hear the fo-rni of cominitt'al read by tlie clerk of the vt'ourt, Tume immediately became serious. He closely followed the reading of the form and when asked to plead he made his declaration of admission of guilt in a clear, ste'ady voice without any sign of hesitation. Mr. A. Coleman S.M. addressed accused's counsel, Mr. Ik G. Opie, asking how he desired tlie plea to he entered. Mr: Opie: "This statement he has made is the only statement anyone has been able to get out of hjm, and- 1 submit it should be treated as a plea of not guilt y„ " The Magistrate agreed tliat that would be the proper. course and committed Tume for trial at the next qimrterly sessions of the Suiireme Court at Palmerston North on February 1.

Tume was cliarged witli the inurd^r at Tokorangi, near Marton, 011 the niglit of Decomber 29 of Mrs. Olive Hartley, aged about o'i, her daughter, Mrs. Lillian Winiata, aged about 23. and Mrs. Winiata 's three-year-old son, ParTiek Lionel Winiata. Mrs. Hartlev and Arrs. Winiata were European women, Patrick Winiata lieing a lialf-easte boy. Eenior Detective O. Power a'ppeareu for the poliee, aiul Mr. A. M. Ongley kept a watching hrief for the relatives of the deeeased. . "I've Done Them In." Describing the . attitude of Tume toward Mrs. Lilliam M iuiata a,s "prettv bad," Alfred Winiata, tractor driver, of ITnion Htreet, Foxton, and brotlier-in-Idw to the dee.eased, said Tume wa."always pieking on her," although he had nev er seen the aceused aetuabi strike her. Tume and LilJian Wiuiatu had been living togetlier as man and wife for about two years. Witness am 'n.is wife were staying with the late -M rs. Ilartley over the Christmas,- holidays. (|)n_ the nig'ht of the tragedy when witness 4tid hisjpfe lcft the house in a truck at 8 o'if&ek to visit the house of M r. Alee R&'tley furtlier along the roiid. accusidyw|s with Mrs. Olive Hartlev. M rs. iViiiiata and her three sons-, Bobliy, aged - Patrick, aged H, and a 1.2 ii?ont}is-oId baby. After staying aboiu five" mintites at Alee Hartlev 's hou$e, witnesH-' was on his way vaek to Mrs. Olive Hartlev 's house when he met Bohhy Winiata on the road. ^ ••" 'Bobby was screaming and was ln a, terrible state. I then met aceused .and he said to me, 'I've done them in up there'," said the witness. "Aceused asked me to ring the poiice andwhen I told him I wouldn't he said h,e would go and- do it himself. I gave' him the truck and he drove off. While we were at the truck I heard Tume say to ±5oDDy, "i. won't hui you.:' Aceused asked me to look after his ' 12-months-old ' baby at" the house." After aceused liad left the witness tclephoned the poliee. Aceused, when he had spoken to witness on the roal, liad seemed "very happy. " To Mr. Opie the witness said he had refused to telephnne the poiice fqi Tume beeause at the news of the murder he had "gone eold all through" and eould not do anything. lle did nol know why Tume had adopted sueh an aggressive attitude toward Liilian Winiata and he did not tliink she \vatrying to get ri'il of the aceused. The witness knew a man namcd Otaham IVilson at Hunterville but did not knou whether Lillian Winiata was friendly with him. There had been an alterea tion between Tume and Lillian Winiate on Christmas Ray during dinner, and the rest of the family had endpayoured to cairn them. - There had been. son.it, I'upior in the house on Christmas Day and on the day of t'he tragedy, but tiowitness did not know whether* the ac cused had lieen drinking on either da,y. Jie-examined the witness said he lubi seen the aceused have" an odd clrink dr two, but he had never seen Tume drunk. Just prior -to the tragedy the accustid had seemed perfectly sober. Met As Pen Friends. !' Mrs. Dinah Winiata, wife of the previous witness, said Lillian Winiata had become friendly witli Tume througii correspondence while Tume was ovcseas, Fince the return to New Zcaland of Tume he and Lillian Winiata had been living togetlier as man and wife. On December 2-1 there had been a disturbance in the Hartlev kitchen aml Lillia-n rau screaming into her motlier who endeavoured to stop Tume from tearing the clothes off Lillian 's sliotilder. Lillian sat down in a chair in the front room and Tume put His flnge rs arouiul her throat saying: "I've a good mind to press as liard as I cau.J ' The row quietened down but broke out again on Christmas Hav while the family was sitting down to dinner. Tume ob jectod KrlleiY Lillian changed her place at the t-able. Aceused tried to drag her back by.ffofce and tlten tried to make her eat food she did not waiit. Lillian sereaiued and .the family tried to reason witli. Tume but he would not listen. Lillian ran into the front roo^ii, Pollowed by Tume. When the witne'sa arrived Lillian 's clothes had been badlv toru and aceused again had his finge'rs iround her throat. Aceused kept repeatng: "I'll get you, Lillian!" They got Tunle back into tlie kitchen and that niglit he left by taxi! On the followng dav they heard that Tume was re;urning' tp the house so they persuaded Lillian to leave the lio.use to get out of lis way. Aceused arrived baek by taxi it 6 p.ni." aud went looking for Lillian. tle came back' witli her and the children ;he next moruing. The rowing between them started igaiu, aaid'tlie-witaessi - 'Mfe-P'Hal^ley

i made a bed up for Lillian in her room I in order to ptotect Lillian. Witness [said she heard Tume sav: "You havo a- pretty face, Lillian, and it woujd bt* •i, darned shame if I decided to spoi! it. ' ' " Praye'd For Folice To Come. The family decided to send toi a doctor to examine Lillian so she could make a charge of assault against Tume, and a doctor from Hunterville visited her - on December 27. Mrs.- Hartlev, ordered .Tume out of fhe place on December 28. . . "We waited for the poiice all day; my motlier had just about 'liad' it' herself and prayed for the poiice to come, said the witness. "Tume told her to keep her nose out of it. The position was just the same on Wednesday, December 29. I was just about in hysterics and Lillian staxted to vomit blood. I pleaded with Tume to go away, at least" until Lillian 's nerves had quietened down, hut he said he had howhere to go hecause no one would -have him.: This, Che said, was hecause he caused too much trouble wherever lie weut,'.' .. . v .. Tume eventually agreed" to go away. ,He liRfVp pencil a piece of paper asjal^^r thfe Jlatd.' :• - Witness .and her' hu'sbanjl left. tlie house at 8 p.m. to agsfin rilrg fox the doctor. Witness identified the iron bar. produced as oue used for cutting the tops off bottles. " Ybu Rotten Cad." ^ Witness -'s hpsband* set off from Alec Hartlev 's to retur-n td„01i:ve ..HaFhley A short wlii.le. after nlie and Mrs. Alec Hartley heard footsteps and thought it was her husband returning*, but they lieard. .the" aceused 's voice call from tlie ' doo r ' '1 ' ve done threp of tliem in up there." 'Witness 's sister-ih-law re plied: ."You rotten cad. to come and tell ,ne that. " Aceused' rau off and drove, '.away iii the truck, Cross-e.yaniined,". .witness said there wiis a ldi'ge number of adults at the Hartlev house for Christmas dinner. When Tume began assaulting Lillian tlie men took him outside until lie quietened down. When .Tume and Lillian bcgan living together trvo years ago they seemed to be very fond of eucli otlier, but Tume wanted tp bc, 'top dog" in front of everyone. Witness thought he liad a jealous nature and that he ■ was jealous of Grahain Wilsou of whoni the aceused was fright'eued. Wilsori's xvas the only place where Tume was scared to follow Lillian. He knew Wilson kept lirearnis in the house. Tume, when he visited witness at Foxton, about tliree nionths before the tragedy, had said he would "get" Wilson in ' addition- to Lillia'n. For about three nionths Lillian had been trying to run away from Tume .V'.li oi.n. she aceused -of . persistently iiltreating herself and her children. • Eye-Witness Story. " A graphic story pf having seen Tume r-epeatedlyv striking Mrs. Olive Hartley was! reeourited by -Robert Hartley, also known as liobert Winiata, an eight-year-old son of Lillian Winiata. On the night of the tragedy when Mr. and Mrs. Alfred Winiata left the house of Mrs. Hartley, said tlie- boy, he was sitt i n g on his bed looking out a window, toward the road. In the same room were his motlier, his grandmother, grandfather and liis two brotliers. Tume was outside. Witness saw Tume come Into tlie honse and aslc Mrs. Hartley for the iron. Mrs. Winiata said he couldn't have the ifon beeause it , liad been bouglit witli" Mrs. Hartley 's own money. "Tume went out of the room but came back. with something in his hand," said the boy. "All I could see was what looked like a piece of round wood at the "back of his hand. Mrs. Hartley opened the door and Tume chased her outside. My mother began to scream and l became frightened. I opened the window, jumped out and ran to hide in some trees. There is a stile at the fence and while . I was on the stife I saw Tume smackr ing grandmother (Mrs. Hartley) with something he had in his hand. My. mother was calling out to XJncle Alec who lives at -the bottom of the hill. (xrandmother was lying on the ground while Tume was striking her. I saw Tume go . inside5 so I went and hid under some trees just. 'outside the gate. Aftef a little while- 1 saw him , run down the road. "I went back. to where grandmother was lying a'nd lield her hand. I called out to-'Uncle Alee but nobody answered. I went and found motlier and Pat lying at tlie back door. Then I ran down tlie road to Mr. Gordon 's. Tume was beliind an implement shed and came out on to the. road where he stopped Alfred Winiata 's truck. I went and hid be'hind the truck. Tume came • and said: 'You're uot the oue, that I was after,'

" ■ - - SZ vjj » and got into the .truclc and drove away." I "I've Been Killing, Too." • Ian Matthew Gordon,- a '* .slieplierd, employed by Mr. Barnett at Ghepuhi,; said his house- was about a quarter of l a mile from Mrs. Hartley 's. He did not know-Tpme .partieularly well but on the evening of December 29 while witness was slaughtering some stock, Tume. Came up and saidi "I have been doing some killing, too. Ii have .'killed my, wife, Mrs. Hartley .and.young- Padciy., I had to do it, for "persbnal .re'asons."; Witness could no't believe' him: Ae-' cused asked if witness liad p Jphone- so' he could iiif orin the poiice, bfft- hb had not. Aceused was going, tQ- Mr,: Bar uett's place but witness stopped him,' saying the place was lockedydp. * Bobby Winiata arrived- in V sefeatM ng and terrifiedh" co'nditionp:f Alfred; Winiata came along5 tlie r'Oid :in ,11-iK truck. Tume said to him : " W ei"l, I've. done it, Alf. " To Bobby Yecused sdid; "Don't be frightened, I 'm not goYng to kill you." Tume drove off in Winiata ',* truck and returned later to say lie had rung the poliee. i Aceused sat on the gate and waited until the poliee arrived frOni . Marton. Tume was quite boastful about all he'd done and remarked it would be'' Oii tlie lips of people throughout New Zealand for some time to come. Witness accompanied Tume and the poliee to the seene of the tragedy and as the car was driving througlr the gate he told the poliee to be careful beeause the body of Mrs. Hartley' ifas lying just inside tlie yard, under a tree. He said Mrs. Winiata and the b'ov Patrick were lying at the back dopr and tliaf tlie instr,uhient was lying bfeside Mrs. Hartley in the yard. • - - : Cross-examined witness said he bad TiGticed notliing out of the normal in accused's beliaviour iii the "time he»/iad knoWn him. • Patu Renata, a f armer, of Tokorangi, gave evidence tliat Tume liad used his phone to ring the poiice and uiform them of the deaths of Mrs. Hartley, Mrs. Winiata and Pat Winiata. " How lie had received a telephone message at 8.44 p.m. on December "29 from a man calling himself Jolin Tume, saying he had killed -tliree personsy was related by Sergeant W." J. Brovvn, of Marton. He met aceused at. Gordon 's liouse and the aceused acebinpariied. tliem to tlie Hartley house and sliowed tliein tlie three bodies. After aduisim: ' Tume tliat he would be arrested and cliarged, and warning him in the cus tomary way, aecused said: "1 know sergeant, you liave to do your duty, bu; do you tliink they '11 keep me in long?' Witness said aceused. was wearine white canva.s .shoes, red socks aud green trousers produced. .. This evidence was corroborat-ed> by Constable A. F. Riglden, o.f- Marton' , : - Was Told,.Tq Klll Them.,"I murdered them and .wgjb tgkc wlia'te ver is; .eouiing to ' mb, " - ' g : , Accordbig to testimony given- by.-jDg tective-Sergeant J. G. Long, of F.a!iji erston North, these words wero used bv Tume when arrested by .Senior .Detective 0. Power. Mr. Power. liad satd: "Since yoii hhve said .so . much yon m iglit like- to say wliy you did it,I'-.-rnd -lEqiBfVihad pFffid: qaUnA«ll you tlie truth of tlie. matter, . but , 1 don't want to bring anvone else into it." . Aecused, said the witness, had -gqnion to explain that he . .ljadybee^.' living vvith Lillian Winiata for two ye.ar-5 aiid tliei' had one child. Mrs. Wiuiaia. liaei been exp.eeting anotlier buLhaq.tolcl ac Cused he was nQt (he f ather. , .Tuine .had said that .for some two meiitiis5. past Mrs. Winiata had rebuffed him, savipg she was someone else's propertv and his propertv no longer. On the way to the Palmerston North poiice station aceused had said: "I had to do it; 1 was told to. do it.". Asked who lrid told him to do it, accuscd had replied: "Mys. Hartley liad asked me to.Ieavoi .tliem.iirpeaee and if I did not go awav T niight" as -well kill them. She. aJso told me if I killed them I woiild get mv Teward when I was caught. ". • Witness produced two notes .written on the back of almanaek paper and signed "Jolin." They were with some clothes which had been packed. uptin oue of the back rooms of the Ilartjey house. One was addressed "Brother T. Tume," and said the writer was returning borrowed clothes, finisliing up "God help me and my family." ' The second note, which said the remaiiilcr of the borrowed clothes could be col-

lected. at the State Forest station at Karioi, concluded "God help and bless you. T am forced to do tliis terrrkle Jhing by the Ilartley family." To Mr. Opie, Mr. Long said aceused claimed he had been told by Mrs. Lillian Winiata tliat Graham Wilson was the father of hef prospective child.

Apart from some'empty beer bottles at the back of the house, witness saw no signs of liquor in the house and . he could not say liow long it liad been since liquor had been consumed. This completed the case for the Crown aud aceused was committed- *for trial as stated.'